She stood, ready to run into his arms and let him comfort her, then stopped. He was in his uniform. He wasn’t smiling. Nor did he reach to embrace her.

“What are you doing here?” he asked in a tight voice. “You’re not supposed to associate with Jews. You’ll be in a lot of trouble.”

“What Jews?” she asked angrily. “They’re all gone! And what are you doing here —arresting them?”

“We’ve been ordered to watch this apartment and several others. Two of the Jews who lived here are missing.”

“Those two Jews are my friends, Miriam and Avi Leopold. They moved to Amsterdam to find work. I suppose you and your Nazi friends have already taken Miriam’s father, Professor Jacobs, and their landlady, Mrs. Spielman.” She wanted Erik to hear their names, to know that they were real people. “Do you know where they took them?”

“Amsterdam, I think.”

“And then what? From Amsterdam they’ll go to Westerbork —and then where? What happens to them after that?”

Erik looked away. “They’ll go to resettlement camps.”

“How can you do this, Erik? How can you help the Nazis destroy innocent people’s lives?”

“I don’t have a choice!”

“You keep saying that, using it as an excuse —”

Erik moved closer, lowering his voice. “You promised me you wouldn’t get involved.”

“I’m involved because they’re my friends. I heard there were roundups in Leiden, and I came to see if Professor Jacobs was still here. He isn’t. This is his landlady’s cat.” It had reappeared from beneath the bush and was rubbing its head against her leg.

“You’re not hiding your friends, are you?” She didn’t reply. “Please, Ans. You’ll be in terrible danger if you are. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“I told you. They already moved to Amsterdam. Now, unless it’s against the law, I’m going to take Mrs. Spielman’s cat home so it doesn’t starve to death.” She bent to pick it up and it clung to her, its claws sharp, its motor purring. She walked away from Erik without another word. She loved him. But she hated what he was doing.

“The police are looking for you and Miriam,” she told Avi when she returned. The rage she felt was beyond any anger she’d ever known. “They know you’re missing and they’re watching your apartment. We need to create a hiding place here, in case the Nazis come to search.”

“Would they do that?”

“Yes. They would.”